How To Use A Climbing Harness

A climbing harness is the anchor point for your literal lifeline in rock climbing. Skimping on the quality of the harness or sloppy placement of fit and hookup for the harness will likely end in grief. Luckily, the process of fitting and hookup for the harness isn't that complicated.

Step 1

Grab a loosened climbing harness as if you were about to step into a baggy pair of shorts. The leg loops should hang down with the slider buckles forward and the ends of the webbing ("tails") sticking up and out of the buckles.

Step 2

Step into the leg loops and snug them up through use of the buckles. Snug means just that--not too tight nor loose and sloppy.

Step 3

Pull the leftover webbing ("or "tailing") around behind your back in both directions and bring around to the front of your waist snugly. Depending on how much tailing you have left from the harness webbing (and your waist size), you may have two or more wraps around your middle.

Step 4

Stick the ends of the tailing through your main harness buckle about where your normal belt buckle would be. There must be at least a couple of inches of tail through the buckle at the end of your wrap. If you are using the newer "red alert" buckle system, be sure to pass the webbing back through the buckle so that the red bar is covered with at least a couple inches of webbing left over.

Step 5

Pull the leg loop suspend straps that hold the leg loops in place through the leg loops oppositely (right to left and left to right) to keep the leg loops from working down too far. Buckle them in snug so your leg loops stay in place. Tie in the climbing rope, going around the complete set of crotch and waist straps, not just the outer one. Tie in with a figure 8 follow-through or other safe climbing knot.